The present invention relates to an assembly and method for lifting and supporting the generator field in the stator frame to allow the insertion or removal of the hydrogen seal casing, inner oil deflector, field body shoe, skid pan, and other generator or field hardware.
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, conventionally, the generator field 10 is positioned and moved using support studs 12 installed through a support assembly with spherical nuts 14, in order to raise and lower the generator field. More specifically, a support bracket, sometimes as referred to as an eyebrow 16, is bolted to the stator frame 18 with bolts 20. The bracket has spaced bores 22 and spherical receptacles 24 for receiving the support studs 12 and spherical nuts 14, respectively. The distal end 26 of each support stud is secured to a respective clevis 28 coupled to a respective longitudinal end of a cable 30 that extends below the generator field 10. As illustrated, a protective journal shim 32 is provided between the cable 30 and the generator field 10. The spherical nuts 14 are threaded to the support studs 12 for selectively adjusting their position relative to the eyebrow 16 to in turn adjust the position of the cable and the generator field supported thereby. Thus, in the conventional structure, by rotating the spherical nuts 14, the position of the generator field 10 can be adjusted up and down to position and move the generator field as required.
With this conventional design, there is a significant amount of weight on each of the spherical nuts. This results in a large friction force and makes it difficult to turn the nuts to adjust the stud position. Indeed, large impact wrenches have to be utilized along with torque multipliers to turn the nuts. As a result, in most cases, the station crane must used to elevate the field, removing weight from the studs/nuts so that the required length adjustment can be made. Thus, the current system is labor intensive and difficult to perform. It would be desirable to eliminate crane usage and make the process faster, easier and less labor intensive.